Liza Minnelli

Longtime singer and actress Liza Minnelli returns to Baltimore for the first time since the 1990s on Saturday. After releasing more than 20 albums, the award-winning Broadway performer recently released a DVD featuring some of her more recent work. Proceeds from the concert will go toward the Chimes School for children with disabilities. The performance is at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. Tickets are $53-$78. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Call 410-547-7328 or go to ticketmaster .com.

John Darnielle moved for the first time in seven years last summer. His moves are unique, not just because they're rare, but because they typically precipitate a new musical direction. "For me moving, is always a big opportunity. It's just a enough of a shift in outlook that every time I move, it seems to open something up," he said. When he entered his new living room in Durham, N.C., he found a natural reverb and started writing a song that would become part of his new album, "All Eternals Deck.

She's back.After spending virtually all of her 44 years in the public spotlight, after a highly publicized chemical addiction and recovery, after two divorces, one separation and the recent deaths of such confidants as entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. and designer Halston, Liza Minnelli is transcending life's blows and heading back to stage center --with a vengeance.Her new film musical, "Stepping Out," opens nationally in the fall; her international concert tour, also called "Stepping Out," is taking her to 39 cities this year alone -- with a stop tonight at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia.

Longtime singer and actress Liza Minnelli returns to Baltimore for the first time since the 1990s on Saturday. After releasing more than 20 albums, the award-winning Broadway performer recently released a DVD featuring some of her more recent work. Proceeds from the concert will go toward the Chimes School for children with disabilities. The performance is at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. Tickets are $53-$78. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Call 410-547-7328 or go to ticketmaster .com.

By David Zurawik and David Zurawik,SUN TELEVISION CRITIC | November 23, 1995

There is no Katharine Hepburn movie this year, so viewers who insist on charm, music, lights and laughter in their holiday movies will have to make do with "The West Side Waltz," which airs at 9 tonight on WJZ (Channel 13).Some sacrifice.Based on Ernest Thompson's stage play, "The West Side Waltz" is loaded with talent. There's a star in each of the three main roles -- Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli and Jennifer Grey.As if that weren't an abundance of riches, one of Hollywood's finest actresses, Kathy Bates, plays a supporting role.

Jay Presson Allen, 84, a famed adapter of novels for stage and screen who stood out in an era when few women worked in that field, died Monday at her home in Manhattan after a stroke. Her work was credited with bringing out the best in several actresses, including Vanessa Redgrave, Maggie Smith and Liza Minnelli. In the 1960s, Ms. Redgrave and Ms. Smith, as well as Zoe Caldwell, portrayed a liberated schoolteacher in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which Allen adapted for the theater and film from the novel by Muriel Spark.

A night of music on TV features a little bit of everything, and one very odd couple."Beauty and the Beast on Ice" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) features Eketerina Gordeeva and Victor Petrenko in the title roles, aided by cast members from New York and Los Angeles stage productions. It's all very lovely and chock-full of music ("Gaston," "Be Our Guest," etc.)."The Ira Gershwin Centenary Concert: Who Could Ask For Anything More?" (10 p.m.-midnight, repeats 2 a.m.-4 a.m., A&E) celebrates the words that so beautifully complemented the music of Ira's brother, George.

SINCE their conception, cars have been a thorn in the side of the average human being. People are run down by them, choke on their fumes, and become generally annoyed.But on whose shoulders does this blame really fall? The cars themselves are not the cause, nor even the people who produce them. The real responsibility belongs to the drivers.Imagine how much more pleasant the ride into work would be every day if everyone used turn signals when they were turning or changing lanes and then turned them off when they were finished.

It may still feel like winter outside, but it's beginning to look like summer on the concert scene.Yesterday, the Merriweather Post Pavilion announced the first concerts in its summer subscription series.Included are shows by such stars as Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Buffett, Bonnie Raitt, Barry Manilow and Steely Dan.Series A includes shows by Mr. Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band with the Iguanas (July 26); Chicago (Aug. 12); Steely Dan (Aug. 23); Ms. Raitt with Bruce Hornsby (July 29); and James Taylor (Aug.

Liza Minnelli is running off to dance class. The singer-actress, in fact, is running late. But at 61, she rarely misses the daily, two-hour lessons. "I've got two new hips. I got a wired-up knee. Oh, God!" she says with a throaty chuckle. Not only does she enjoy dancing, but the rigorous steps keep her in shape. "The key is to keep moving." In recent years, Minnelli has been sidetracked temporarily by well-publicized trips to rehab and a contentious divorce from concert promoter David Gest.

Jay Presson Allen, 84, a famed adapter of novels for stage and screen who stood out in an era when few women worked in that field, died Monday at her home in Manhattan after a stroke. Her work was credited with bringing out the best in several actresses, including Vanessa Redgrave, Maggie Smith and Liza Minnelli. In the 1960s, Ms. Redgrave and Ms. Smith, as well as Zoe Caldwell, portrayed a liberated schoolteacher in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which Allen adapted for the theater and film from the novel by Muriel Spark.

NEW YORK -- Here is a happy thought for all you girly girls out there. You can't own too much pink. And the most important accessory, according to the New York Fashion Week that ended Friday, was rose-colored glasses. So just keep thinking that high-heel stilettos don't hurt. And the world is a light and bright place, as long as your skirt swishes when you walk. Michael Kors was inspired by the leisure life in Capri. Anna Sui, the quintessential pop-rock lady, took cues from the little surfer girl.

A night of music on TV features a little bit of everything, and one very odd couple."Beauty and the Beast on Ice" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) features Eketerina Gordeeva and Victor Petrenko in the title roles, aided by cast members from New York and Los Angeles stage productions. It's all very lovely and chock-full of music ("Gaston," "Be Our Guest," etc.)."The Ira Gershwin Centenary Concert: Who Could Ask For Anything More?" (10 p.m.-midnight, repeats 2 a.m.-4 a.m., A&E) celebrates the words that so beautifully complemented the music of Ira's brother, George.

By David Zurawik and David Zurawik,SUN TELEVISION CRITIC | November 23, 1995

There is no Katharine Hepburn movie this year, so viewers who insist on charm, music, lights and laughter in their holiday movies will have to make do with "The West Side Waltz," which airs at 9 tonight on WJZ (Channel 13).Some sacrifice.Based on Ernest Thompson's stage play, "The West Side Waltz" is loaded with talent. There's a star in each of the three main roles -- Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli and Jennifer Grey.As if that weren't an abundance of riches, one of Hollywood's finest actresses, Kathy Bates, plays a supporting role.

Liza Minnelli is running off to dance class. The singer-actress, in fact, is running late. But at 61, she rarely misses the daily, two-hour lessons. "I've got two new hips. I got a wired-up knee. Oh, God!" she says with a throaty chuckle. Not only does she enjoy dancing, but the rigorous steps keep her in shape. "The key is to keep moving." In recent years, Minnelli has been sidetracked temporarily by well-publicized trips to rehab and a contentious divorce from concert promoter David Gest.

Pat Benatar no longer judges success by how many copies her albums sell."This record was a success the day we went into the studiobecause we were doing what we wanted to do," said Benatar, who abandoned her rock 'n' roll roots for a blues-drenched new album called "True Love."But despite the drastic change in format -- sometimes her voice doesn't even sound like the Benatar who was rock's undisputed queen during the early '80s -- commercial success has strangely followed."We're almost gold [500,000 units]

SINCE their conception, cars have been a thorn in the side of the average human being. People are run down by them, choke on their fumes, and become generally annoyed.But on whose shoulders does this blame really fall? The cars themselves are not the cause, nor even the people who produce them. The real responsibility belongs to the drivers.Imagine how much more pleasant the ride into work would be every day if everyone used turn signals when they were turning or changing lanes and then turned them off when they were finished.

It may still feel like winter outside, but it's beginning to look like summer on the concert scene.Yesterday, the Merriweather Post Pavilion announced the first concerts in its summer subscription series.Included are shows by such stars as Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Buffett, Bonnie Raitt, Barry Manilow and Steely Dan.Series A includes shows by Mr. Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band with the Iguanas (July 26); Chicago (Aug. 12); Steely Dan (Aug. 23); Ms. Raitt with Bruce Hornsby (July 29); and James Taylor (Aug.